United said Monday it will move up its temporary suspension of US-bound flights from mainland China by one day to Tuesday. The airline, which is the last US airline still conducting China flights, said on Friday it planned to fly its last flight from China on Wednesday because of the coronavirus outbreak. Delta moved up its suspension of flights over the weekend. American Airlines ended its flights from mainland China on Friday. United said Monday it still plans to resume flights to and from China on March 28. The Trump administration on Friday said it was barring nearly all foreign visitors who have been to China within the past 14 days to address the threat of the virus. <br/>
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Colombian carrier Avianca has engaged a law firm to conduct an independent internal investigation into its relationship with Airbus, after the airline was linked to the extensive probe into alleged bribery involving the airframer. French authorities have disclosed that Airbus orders from airlines including Avianca, Air Arabia, Korean Air, China Airlines, and Nepal Airlines have been scrutinised as part of the probe into the manufacturer’s alleged failure to prevent bribery. The French statement of facts issued as part of the judicial public interest agreement by the Parquet National Financier lays out evidence to back its allegations. Its probe into the Avianca relationship focuses on the circumstances surrounding its order for 100 A320neo aircraft in 2015. Avianca says it has retained the law firm Ropes & Gray to carry out an internal investigation into its relationship with Airbus and whether it has been the “victim of wrongdoing”. The company adds that it will “fully collaborate” with relevant authorities. “Airbus’s disclosure contains deeply concerning information regarding alleged actions by an individual at Avianca in the period prior to March 2016,” says Avianca Holdings president Anko van der Werff. “Our current management team strongly rejects any conduct that does not reflect integrity and transparency in business in general, and in particular towards Avianca.”<br/>
An Air Canada Boeing 767 with 128 passengers and eight crew returned safely to Madrid’s Barajas airport on Monday after reporting an engine issue and a burst tyre on take-off that forced it to circle for hours to burn fuel before landing. Reuters TV footage showed the Boeing Co 767-300ER, which had left Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport bound for Toronto about four hours earlier, landing safely and fire engines rushing onto the runway. “The aircraft has landed without incidents and the mechanics are evaluating its condition to determine the best way to disembark the passengers,” airport operator AENA said. “Pretty scary rough landing, but we made it. Thanks for all the messages and wishes,” tweeted one passenger identified as Aaron C.@thelastfedor, who had posted images from inside the plane while it was in the air. Air Canada said in a statement that the plane circled for four hours “to use up fuel and lighten the aircraft for a safe landing” in Madrid after an engine issue and reported rupture of one of its 10 tyres. “The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300, is designed to operate safely on one engine and our pilots are professionally and fully trained for this event,” Air Canada said. The carrier said there were no reported injuries and customers will be provided hotels and rebooked on other flights.<br/>